Depilating material



Patented Oct. 12, 1943 I *DEPILATING MATERIAL Gene-AbsompChicago, 111., assignor to Chicago 7 Testing Laboratory, Inc., Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois No Drawing. Original application March 27, 1940, Serial No. 326,212. Divided and this ap'-' plication September 13, 1941; Serial No. 410,791

5 Claims.

This is a divisional application of my copending application Serial No."326,212,-fi1ed March 27, 1940, and relates particularly to a depilating material for removing the hairs, bristles, feathers or similar exterior growths from edible carcasses.

I am aware that it has been proposed'toremove the bristles from hogs or other animals by spraying or dipping the carcasses in (1) molten rosin and oil, (2) rosin, pitchand parafiin, and (3) rosin and asphalt, then chilling the adhering compound usually with waterandthenmanually or otherwise stripping from the carcass the coatin carrying the embedded hairs or bristles. This method is eifective, but when melted and reused at temperatures ranging between about 275 F. to 325 F., such re-use being necessary to render theprocesses economically feasible, the compounds mentioned above lose volatile materials very rapidly and frequently become soviscous after only a fewdays useas to interfere-with proper manipulation and must be discarded; this is especially true when compounds containing rosin are used in spray application systems.

It ha been proposed to rejuvenate these compounds by the addition of oils such as cottonseed or soy bean, but this is expensive as well as unsatisfactory because after a few additions of oil, the compound loses its desirable physical prop erties due to excessive amountsof oil being present and is not of the proper consistency for satisfactory stripping or removal even when cooled. Then, too, alkalies such as lime or sodium salts used in the wash water or scaldingwater, react with the abietic or other acids in the rosin and elevate its melting point so that it is no longer V fluid at the temperatures which of necessity must be used in applying the liquefied material. Furthermore, compounds, containing rosin give ofi vapors, smoke and odors which are irritating and otherwise objectionable.

I have found in accordance with my present vention that a coating material comprising at least 80% of an asphaltic, or other bituminous material, eliminates many of the above disadvantages associated with' rosin or rosin compounds. I have further found that asphaltic compounds of the highly susceptible type, that is, ones which show wide difierences in con-' parted to the flesh of the-carcass.

F. to 350'F., are sufficiently coherent'at tem perature below about 150 to-hold the hairs and permit manual removalor lifting of the coatother low boiling point hydrocarbons; these may 'be from'pro'cesses using pressures above atmospheric and relatively high temperatures. '(2) Asphalts derived byprec'ipitation of petroleum or its residues from solutions with butane, propane, hexane or. the like; 'or by'selective solution in such liquids as phenol, iurfural' ulphur dioxide or the like. from tars produced in the destructive distillation of coal, wood or other vegetable matter, or in the production of gas from petroleum. However, it should. be noted that if compounds such as phenols, cresols, or the like are present, the tars must be so treated that no odor or taste is im- 4) .Mixtures or combinations of any of the above with 'asphalts or bitumens derivedfromany other'manufacturing process, such as vacuum and/ or steam 'distillation, oxidation, hydrogenation, dehydrogenation, polymerization, catalytic treatment or the like, including the products of a distillation from crudes -nor'n'1ally producing susceptible 2 asphaits such as California, Wyoming, or Montana. (5) Any of the products represented'by any of the above classifications to which has been added a small portion of material which is relatively nonvolatile at operating temperatures of about 250 F. to 350? F., such as a relatively hard natural or synthetic waxsuch as montan or carnauba or petrolatum orthe like, for the purpose of rendering itmo-re fluid at elevatedtemperatures and/or harder and/or less sticky at stripping temperatures. 1

As another aspect of my invention, Ipropose to" employa compatible reconditioning material derived preferably from the same base stock from which the stripping compound is made, but

losses encountered in use such as losseswhich occur when theadhering bristles are strained or otherwise treated to recover the asphaltic mate- (3) Bituminous material's derived rial for re-use, or hardening due to condensation or polymerization of the hydrocarbons. This reconditioning material, being compatible with the basic composition and inherently containing in addition a small percentage of lower boiling point or more liquid constituents which have been left in, makes up for the slight loss of volatiles that occurs at prolonged and repeated elevated tem-' peratures, and it continues to keep the compound in a useable condition for long periods of time.

As specific embodiments of my invention and merely for illustrative purposes, I may cite the following examples:

(1) An asphaltic residue derived from cracking having a Saybolt Furol (A. S. T. M. Standard Test D-88-38) viscosity of about 100 seconds at 300 F. This asphalt, heated to approximately 275 F., was applied as a coating to a hog which had been scalded; and when the coating had been artificially cooled by air, which was a matter of only a few seconds, it was easily stripped from the carcass. The bristles adhered to the asphalt and were removedfrom the carcass in the stripping operation.

During continued re-melting and re-use, this asphalt was periodically reconditioned by the addition of small quantities of a product from the fire and steam distillation of the same cracked crude oil but which distillation was stopped while the product was semi-liquid. The addition of this reconditioning agent maintained the bulk supply of the carcass coating material in a satisfactory, usable condition and at the same time replenished the loss in volume which was inherent in this type of operation.

Other similar asphalts having viscosities of from about 50 to 200 seconds Saybolt Furol at 300 F., were successfully used and satisfactorily reconditioned.

(2) 'A propane precipitated asphalt, solid at room temperature, derived from crude oil and having a Saybolt Furol viscosity at300" F., of V 2 10 seconds, was heated to approximately 310 151, and sprayed onto hog carcasses and when cooled by spraying with water, was stripped from the carcasses, the asphalt at the same time removing the bristles which remained on the hog after a preliminary mechanical dehairing operation.

This coating material could have been reconditioned as, for instance, in Example 1.

(3) A California crude oil was distilled by steam and vacuum at elevated temperatures until a hard asphalt was left, having an American Society for Testing Materials ring and ball softening point of 160 F. This asphalt was melted, hogs were dipped into the tank containing the asphalt and upon removal and cooling, the coating was stripped from the carcass, thereby removing the hairs adhering thereto.

(4) A residual asphalt was blended with about 10% of 'a hard petrolatum and was used as above with equally good results. This blend had a penetration at 77 F., using grams for 5 seconds, A. S. T. M. method, of 6, and had an A. S. T. M. ring and ball softening point of F.

In all of the above examples wherein the coating material was reconditioned, after extensive usage, the compound was found to be in a satisfactory condition for further usage.

I claim as my invention:

1. The method of reconditioning a solid heat liquefiable depilating material for edible animal carcasses which comprises adding thereto a petroleum residue.

2. The method of reconditioning a solid heat liquefiable depilating material for edible animal carcasses which comprises adding thereto a relatively non-volatile, normally liquid petroleum fraction.

3. The method of reconditioning a solid heat liquefiable depilating material for edible animal carcasses which comprises adding thereto a cracked petroleum residue.

4. The method of reconditioning a solid heat liquefiable depilatory material for edible animal carcasses which has become hardened, which comprises adding thereto a petroleum residue in an amount suflicient to permit the depilatory to become fluid at a temperature of from about 250 F. to about 350 F.

5. The method of reconditioning a solid heat liquefiable essentially bituminous depilatory material for edible animal carcasses which has become'degraded and hardened, which comprises adding thereto a compatible liquid petroleum fraction of greater fluidity than the original bituminous material and in an amount suflicient to permit the reconditioned material to be normally reused.

GENE ABSON. 

